Although Yao Xuan and Mingxi had not reached the point of perfect mutual understanding.

Due to his strength and abilities, he was indeed able to perceive the changes in Mingxi's mood.

He glanced at the two ice-scorpion mechanical beasts attacking the young Beastmaster. With just a sweep of his gaze, the two ferocious mechanical beasts seemed to have all their energy drained away, their joints locked, instantly turning into two heaps of silent scrap metal.

Mingxi had already walked up to the young man and casually tossed him one of her excess black-striped flags.

Her tone was flat.

"It's yours."

The young man was completely stunned, accepting the black-striped flag blankly.

He stared up at Mingxi dazedly.

He even forgot to say thank you.

Mingxi wasn't interested in his gratitude anyway; her gaze had already shifted. She saw a team of Beastmasters, impeccably dressed and radiating fierce energy, who were relying on their powerful Cleaving King.

They were not only snatching flags from others but were also deliberately commanding the Cleaving King to use a critical strike to destroy flags that others had painstakingly acquired and were about to secure, taking pleasure in the act.

When they let out particularly arrogant laughter, Mingxi's eyes grew cold.

The next moment, the few flags that team had just acquired and hadn't even warmed up yet landed in Mingxi's hands.

She didn't even need Yao Xuan to act; she took down that entire team with just her and her whip. Several people had their legs broken, and their Pet Beasts naturally didn't fare well either.

They were all severely injured, unable to squeeze out a single drop of energy.

Pet Beasts couldn't attack Beastmasters, but that didn't stop a Beastmaster from attacking a Pet Beast.

The black-striped flags in the hands of this group naturally all became her spoils of war, including those from the first two stages.

"You," Mingxi looked towards the lone Beastmasters who had been bullied and were bruised and swollen, "come and collect your flags."

"Huh?"

These people were also stunned.

No one moved for a long while.

Shi Lei and his wife also realized Mingxi's intention at this point.

Shi Lei laughed, "Why are you still standing there dumbfounded? Our girl wants to give you her extra black-striped flags. Hurry up, first come, first served, or you'll miss out."

The group immediately scrambled to their feet, each one agile, showing no signs of having been severely injured moments ago.

"Thanks, beautiful."

"Beautiful, you really are a great person."

"Thank you, Boss."

Those who received the black-striped flags from Mingxi naturally offered their heartfelt thanks.

While Mingxi was handing out black-striped flags like charity, Yao Xuan was helping snatch flags from the mechanical beasts. The chilling cold of the ice-devouring rock had no effect on him whatsoever, making flag-snatching effortlessly easy.

Moreover, he was quite heavy-handed, directly dismantling the mechanical beasts.

It was the kind of destruction where even a passing dog would have to kick it once.

The parts were collected by Shi Lei and his wife.

As a result, Mingxi distributed over 130 black-striped flags in one go, many of which were flags from the first and second stages.

Mingxi gave them to whoever she found pleasing.

For example, teams that still supported each other and remained loyal in dire straits.

People who, though barely able to protect themselves, were still willing to extend a helping hand to the weaker ones.

Beastmasters with clear eyes and firm beliefs who pressed forward regardless of their lack of strength.

She would shove one to three black-striped flags directly into their hands as if handing out candy, making them seem less like proof of qualification for the challenge and more like small flyers from a roadside shop.

Conversely, if she found someone displeasing.

For instance, those who stabbed others in the back, abandoned teammates during battle, or bullied the weak with despicable means—forget receiving a flag, even the flags they had painstakingly acquired might be lost or destroyed by Yao Xuan in various ways.

Such as being suddenly swept away by a strange gust of wind, or the ice-devouring rock beneath their feet inexplicably cracking open and swallowing them, rendering all their previous efforts useless.

Her actions seemed completely capricious, without any discernible pattern or reason.

Her strength was unfathomable, and her style of action was both righteous and wicked, making her impossible to predict.

The news that a 'Demon Fairy' had arrived at Tianguan Mountain spread rapidly among all the contestants, like the mountain's harsh winds and eerie mist, carrying awe, gratitude, excitement, and deep disbelief.

The Beastmasters continuing toward the summit of Tianguan Mountain discussed the matter in hushed tones during brief rests or while avoiding danger, as if afraid of being overheard by that mysterious existence.

"Hey, have you heard? That Eastern girl with a snake-type Transcendent creature... Yes, her! She's the Demon Fairy."

"What is her background? When did our Anji Country produce such a person? I heard that snake-shaped Transcendent creature might be a Venerable-level Pet Beast, that's terrifying!"

"Didn't they say it was Saint-level?"

"It must be Venerable-level. Many people saw that Pet Beast enter the Realm of No Return and transform into a nine-headed giant python. Those terrifying mushrooms had absolutely no effect on it. That aura, that pressure, that strength—it's definitely more than Saint-level!"

"I also heard that Demon Fairy is called Mingxi. That name..."

"...Could it be that person?"

They naturally knew who 'that person' referred to.

In this day and age, was there anyone who didn't know Mingxi?

Certainly not.

"It definitely isn't. It must just be a coincidence of names. Divine Ming doesn't have a snake-type Pet Beast."

"But they're both named Mingxi, and both are so incredibly strong."

"Does the name Mingxi possess some kind of magic? Was its talent blessed by the rules of the universe?"

"You never know!"

"Then I'm going to change my name!"

"Me too!"

"I also..."

"Hahaha... Wouldn't that mean if someone shouted 'Mingxi' at an intersection, 90% of the people on the street would turn around?"

"Stop chattering. I heard they've already headed towards the mountainside. Maybe she'll continue giving away black-striped flags. Let's hurry over; we might still catch a good opportunity."

"That's not certain. Do you know why they gave her the strange nickname 'Demon Fairy'? Demon first, then Fairy—her actions are extremely unpredictable.

You didn't see what happened to Black Wolf's crew.

They were a powerful team with a Cleaving King!

Just because they snatched a flag from a lone Beastmaster, what was the result?

All the flags they had secured flew away, and they tumbled down the slope as if chased by ghosts. They're probably still lying in some snow pit right now!"

"What do you think? She came to participate in the Heavenly Craftsman's Dream Workshop challenge, so is she a Tool Master too? I wonder how strong her tool-making ability is? Is it as strong as her Beastmaster ability?"

"No way, right? She must at least be an SS-Rank Beast Master. She can't possibly be an SS-Rank Tool Master as well, can she? She doesn't look that old; where would she find the time?"

"Heh heh, then tell me why Divine Ming was able to win the Starsea Cup double championship at age 16? Do you think she had a lot of time to grow? Don't use your mediocre mindset to judge a genius."

"..."

"I secretly observed her and found that the area the Demon Fairy passed through seems particularly safe. The mechanical beasts walk around it, and even the harsh winds are much weaker!"

"Stop dreaming! I tried to follow her from afar to catch a break, but when I was still over a hundred meters away, I felt all the hairs on my body stand up. I couldn't breathe, like I was being targeted by some primordial behemoth. I almost suffocated! I ran away immediately!"

"..."

The Demon Fairy Mingxi, and her mysterious nine-headed serpent Yao Xuan, who was mistakenly believed to be just a specially mutated snake Pet Beast, became a transcendent anomaly within Tianguan Mountain, breaking the rules of the game.

She was like a fierce mountain wind whose direction could not be predicted, dispersing some of the desperate gloom hanging over the contestants. However, whether she could interfere with the cruel selection process carefully arranged by the Heavenly Craftsman remained to be seen.

That was hard to say.

The last black-striped flag was located at the Throat of Rending Wind on the mountainside of Tianguan Mountain.

For Mingxi and Yao Xuan, the Throat of Rending Wind also held little difficulty. It was another round of killing, snatching, and giving away.

The severe cold of the ice-devouring rock, the tearing force of the Throat of Rending Wind, and the pervasive open and covert struggles.

When the darkest and coldest moment before sunrise descended,

The world seemed to be left only with the howling wind and their own heavy heartbeats.

Mingxi, Shi Lei, Lan Qin, and dozens of other contestants, whether relying on their own strength or their luck, finally succeeded in stepping onto the summit of Tianguan Mountain before sunrise.

The summit was an extremely vast, relatively flat, gigantic rock platform.

It looked as if it had been meticulously leveled by an invisible giant god's sword, wide enough to accommodate thousands of people.

The surface of the platform was not smooth like a mirror but covered with crisscrossing, bottomless natural cracks. These cracks, illuminated by the sparse starlight and the first glimmer of dawn about to pierce the darkness in the eastern sky, vaguely formed the pattern of a massive array, containing some profound cosmic truth.

"Master, this looks like a fragmented array, and it doesn't seem to be naturally derived; it looks more like it was artificially created," Guangguang suddenly spoke up.

Mingxi asked, "Can you tell what kind of array it is?"

"It will take some time to deduce. There are too many fragmented parts. I can only try, and it will consume my bonus time."

"Alright."

In this world, arrays were even rarer than Rainbow Keys.

Yet in this world, without arrays, order would likely collapse.

Thus, arrays were both rare and common.

They were the most unique existence in this world.

Before this, Mingxi had never heard anyone mention a gigantic array on the summit of Tianguan Mountain. Looking at the photos of Tianguan Mountain previously, she certainly hadn't noticed it was an array.

Could the Heavenly Craftsman setting up that ridiculous challenge here be related to this array?

What exactly did he intend to do?

The fierce winds that had ravaged the mountainside became unusually docile upon reaching the summit, merely flowing gently around, as if afraid to disturb the eternal solemnity of the place.

Below were endless, surging clouds like a white ocean, and above was a vast, dazzling starry sky, mesmerizing enough to make one feel they could reach out and pluck a star. Every single star was crystal clear, casting down a cool, brilliant light.

Just as the first ray of golden sunlight pierced the sea of clouds like a sharp sword, shining accurately onto the center of the fragmented array.

The four black-striped flags of varying shades, carefully collected by all those who successfully reached the summit, simultaneously transformed into four streams of light, each a different color, ethereal and dreamlike.

As if summoned, they flew out, quickly condensing and taking shape in front of them, finally merging into a small "Challenge Certificate" that was neither metal nor wood, warm to the touch, and emitted a black glow.

"It's actually a combination tool!"

Someone exclaimed.

A combination tool is a type of item that can be disassembled and reassembled. It is a relatively rare and special category of tool, not because of the rarity associated with spiritual tools, but due to the extremely high difficulty of its creation.

In fact, the certificate in their hands could hardly be called a combination tool.

Because the characteristic of a true combination tool is that each disassembled part functions as a tool, and the assembled whole is another tool.

When this certificate separated back into four black-striped flags, they were just ordinary flags.

Aside from slightly special materials, they were useless.

Therefore, this certificate was, at most, a pseudo-combination tool.

Combination tools are inherently rare. The Heavenly Craftsman might certainly be capable of making true combination tools, but he would have to be insane to fashion a bunch of useless certificates into combination tools.

How much free time would he have?

Unless he was a wholesaler of combination tools!

Unless... this thing had another purpose.

Mingxi narrowed her eyes, and Yao Xuan, standing beside her, nodded at her.

She took the certificate.

Everyone else had already taken the certificate into their hands.

Including Shi Lei and his wife.

Shi Lei said, "The four black-striped flags turned out to be a pseudo-combination tool. We didn't notice it at all before." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Lan Qin also touched the certificate with a look of novelty, "This certificate is quite delicate and exquisite. After binding, it should also have defensive and spiritual recovery functions.

Although this item is a pseudo-combination tool, the connecting points of ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) the components are perfect. If the black-striped flags could be refined using primordial jade essence gold and supplemented with stabilization solution, this certificate might truly become a combination tool."

Both husband and wife were Tool Masters, and Lan Qin had significant achievements in the field of combination tools. She personally enjoyed researching related areas.

"Sister Ming, what do you think?"

Both husband and wife were the type to thoroughly analyze any good tool they encountered, possessing the obsessive dedication common among many secondary profession masters, often becoming engrossed in a new tool for a long time.

But this time, neither of them ignored Mingxi.

Mingxi smiled, "I am not a Tool Master, so I don't have many opinions on this item, but personally, I think it's best if you don't try to bind it."

Shi Lei and his wife paused slightly, unsure if they were surprised that she wasn't a Tool Master or by her last statement.

Because of Mingxi's previous actions of snatching and giving away flags, the vast majority of people present were paying attention to her every word and deed.

Therefore, everyone heard her statement.

"May I ask why Miss Demon Fairy would say that?

Although this certificate is not a combination tool, a pseudo-combination tool is still quite rare. This item is even rated A-rank and is quite valuable. The Heavenly Craftsman clearly intended to give us the certificate as a reward after setting up such a difficult qualification challenge."

"Do you have any concerns?"

The first person to speak up and ask a question was a stunning woman dressed in pink.

Pink hair, pink lips, pink clothes, large pink earrings—but she didn't have the delicate, cute look; instead, she had the striking, strong features of a mature woman.

Therefore, pink actually didn't suit her.

Furthermore, behind her stood a Gravity Monkey King. The monkey had its hair tied up in a topknot and wore a crooked little flower sewn from pink cloth.

Oh, and it was holding a large pink hammer.

The appearance and attire of the woman and the monkey already stood out in the crowd, and when she spoke, she became even more conspicuous.

Mingxi remembered this person; Lan Qin had mentioned her before.